What if DreamWorks Pictures/DreamWorks Animation was founded in 1934?/Ico the Brave Little Horse
Ico the Brave Little Horse (or shortly Ico) is a 1987 American-Argentine animated musical drama adventure film produced by DreamWorks Pictures. It was produced by Dora Wilson and TBD, written by Ines Geldstein and directed by Manuel García Ferré. The film conveys the story of a young wild colt named Ico who whishes to become one of the king’s royal horses, only to follow the mystery of the tolling sound of a bell and the disappearance of countless horses. Ico the Brave Little Horse was officially released in theaters on July 9, 1987 in United States and August 1, 1987 in Argentina. While recieved mixed reviews from the critics for praising the animation and storytelling despite criticizing for its darker tone, it was considered an approval commercial success . The film later made its television debut on the Disney Channel on May 15, 1988. Plot Ico is a wild little horse who lives in the forest with his mother and friends, including Jaba the boar whom he has once saved from a hunt. Each full moon, the animals hear in the distance the frightening and mysterious tolling of a bell. Ico wants to find out who rings the bell and why. One day, he sees the royal parade and decides he wants to be the King’s horse. He follows the parade and becomes friends with Larguirucho, the friendly castle horse keeper. In the night, Ico tells his mother he wants to be the King’s horse. The next day, with Larguirucho’s help, Ico sneaks into the castle where he meets the other stable horses. He learns that if he wants to be the King’s horse, he has to talk to the Black Duke, the king’s chief equerry, because he has the power to choose the king’s horse. The horses warn Ico that the Black Duke is a very sinister and evil man. Grandpa Mathew, the oldest horse in the stable, tells him about a mysterious phantom bell tolling that frightens the horses. As every time they hear it, a horse disappears from the stable and never returns. The next day, walking in the castle, Ico meets Precious, the daughter of the King’s horse, whilst running after her, the Black Duke catches him. Ico tells him that he wants to be the king’s horse, so the Black Duke promises to train him to become an royal steed. However, he orders his henchmen to make the training very hard to discourage the little horse. Larguirucho brings Ico some food after the exhausting training, then they hear the bell tolling again. Larguirucho runs back to the stable and realizes that another horse has gone missing. He goes to talk to the King, but the Black Duke blames him for stealing the horses and puts him into prison. Later that night, Ico learns the story of the bell. It is said that an ancient greedy king had conquered the neighbourhood and stole their gold. He melted the gold and cast a giant bell, whose tolling would remind the realm of his unlimited power. The bell was so huge, that the tower couldn’t hold its tolling and crashed under its weight. The bell fell and buried the king underneath. The legend says that the ghost of the greedy king, as a punishment for his greed, must toll the bell on each full moon. Ico is determined to solve the mystery, as he thinks the person who tolls the bell is the same person that steals the horses from the stable. Ico sets off up the hill, to the ruins of the old castle, where he again meets Precious, who tells him her father – the king’s horse – has gone missing. Ico discovers that it is the Black Duke and his henchmen who have stolen the horses from the stable. In order to use them to lift huge stones to then drop them on the bell to break it up for the gold. It is when this takes place that the tolling sounds. The Black Duke realizes Ico has seen them, so he captures him and ties him to the bell to be crashed by one of the stones. Precious sees this and runs to the forest for help, coming back with Ico’s mom and friends. The Black Duke is clinging onto the swinging stone and rushing the horses to pull the ropes before Ico escapes. He finally cuts the rope so the rock would smash Ico, but Ico escapes at the last minute and the swinging stone turns and hits the bell, consequently crushing the Black Duke and his henchmen. Larguirucho is freed from prison and becomes the new chief barn keeper, and Ico is offered a position as one of the King’s horses. However, at the last moment, Ico changes his mind, deciding he would rather remain a wild horse. Precious decides to join him in the prairie. Characters and cast * Ico - voiced by June Foray (original version) and Phillip Glasser (TV version) in English and by Susana Klein in Spanish - * Larguirucho - voiced by Will Ryan in English and by Pelusa Suelo in Spanish - TBD * Precious - voiced by June Foray (orginal version) and Judith Barsi (TV version) in English and by María Marchi in Spanish - * Ico's mother - voiced by Julie Andrews in English - TBD * Uncle Matthew - voiced by Arthur Malet in English - TBD * The King - voiced by Hal Smith in English – TBD * Black Duke - voiced by Tony Jay in English - TBD * The King’s horses - voiced by Mel Blanc, June Foray, Frank Oz, Charles Adler, Dallas McKennon, and Frank Welker in English Production The film took three-to-five years to produced during its production, until it was completed in 1983, which was originally planned to be released during that same year, but the reason for its delay was due the film release got pushed to 1984, 1985, 1986 and finally to 1987. Its release in Argentina was prohibited by the military junta because its composer was Mikis Theodorakis (famous for Zorba) who was active in politics against dictatorial governments. It was not until 4 years later in 1987, that the movie was officially released in Argentina. In the same year, at the International Moscow Film Festival it won the award for Best Animated Movie. Songs Click here for the lyrics of the songs English verson * Ico Song (sung by Linda Ronstadt; the film's main theme used in the opening and ending credits) * Frolic in the Prairie (the English version's only song) (sung by the forest animals; the scene where Ico is playing and exploring through the woods) * TBD Argentine version The Argentine version's songs are the same ones like the English one, except another song "Hey Laurguirucho" is added. * El Lugar Donde Nací * TBD Trivia *In the Argentinian version, the film is narrated by Ico (voiced by María Marchi) in his point of view, while in the English version, the film is narrated by Sterling Holloway in his final film role. *The song "Hey Larguirucho" didn't included in the English version due to either time rush or translation problems. *In the original theatrical release, June Foray provided the voices of Ico and Precious. Later in the Disney Channel airing, two characters were re-dubbed by Phillip Glasser as Ico and Judith Barsi as Precious (except for Precious' song "Sun Sweet Sun", which remains sung by June Foray). Category:Theories Category:Alternate Reality